this post was submitted on 28 Sep 2023
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In a report published on Thursday, three U.N.-appointed experts said they had found practices in U.S. prisons that amounted to “an affront to human dignity” in visits in April and May.

The U.S. diplomatic mission in Geneva declined to comment. The Federal Bureau of Prisons said it was committed to ensuring the safety and security of incarcerated individuals as well as employees and the public.

One such practice is restraining and shackling women prisoners during childbirth, the report said.

The experts “heard, first hand, unbearable direct testimonies of pregnant women shackled during labour, who due to the chaining, lost their babies”, it said. Asked to give details, a U.N. rights spokesperson referred to “several” cases and confirmed they all involved Black women.

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[–] WilliamTheWicked 88 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I mean, honestly, this is a rather unfair assessment.

It's not just our jail system. It's pretty much the entire judicial system at every step of the way, from a traffic stop to eventual execution.

[–] Jerkules_Jerkules 23 points 1 year ago

our police/courts/corrections is an industry, unfortunately. Who knew that placing ever more profit motives on arresting, processing, and jailing people would end up leading to bad outcomes.

But, hey, it's just the unwashed the masses, so who cares, I guess.

[–] Wogi 13 points 1 year ago

Stop and film.

Don't talk to the police.

[–] FlyingSquid 62 points 1 year ago (1 children)

True about a lot of U.S. practices, especially those involving people of color.

[–] PetDinosaurs 18 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (3 children)

I very much don't disagree, but one of the reasons we hear about these issues in the US is that we have a much larger "minority" (meaning not the people in power, even if there is a plurality) population.

In places like South America, the Middle East, Asia, and Europe, there's either a homogenous population where this doesn't make sense as a criticism or it's just not being reported on. There's huge amounts of racism all over the world.

The US and Canada have problems, but there are going to be pains as we identify and try to correct these racial injustices.

Remember: while colonialism and triangle trade slavery were the worst examples of racism, and the West invented that, it did not invent racism.

What it did invent was feeling bad about racism and trying to improve things.

This is not to defend or deflect anything. It's more that I find "consciousness raising" to be effective.

[–] FlyingSquid 22 points 1 year ago (3 children)

I disagree. I think the reason why we hear about these stories is because the U.S. is supposed to be the 'land of the free' and the place for 'your tired, your poor, your huddled masses.' And then it turns out that no, it's actually a shithole. And then it turns out that it's especially bad for minorities due to whatever specific situation the story is about. So I think you've kind of got it backwards.

[–] PetDinosaurs 18 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I don't see your comment as addressing the same thing at all.

The land of the free was never really a thing. If you are even considering that as part of the discussion, I think you're being naive. America (us and Canada) just has a lot of resources in the sense that it was guaranteed to be a world power for geographic reasons. ("Guns, germs, and steel" is an interesting, but accessible, but also dated, discussion of that)

Any trivial understanding of US, European, or world history will show you the same. Getting people to interact well with out groups is extremely hard. especially in the event of diaspora.

My ancestors, like most of everyone poor brought to the new world, were transported here as human garbage. They weren't taken as chattel slaves, but a share cropper or indentured servant is still not something to be admired either.

We're talking about addressing racial issues. My ancestors were "non white" whites. They disappeared because they didn't have an observable difference. We're now addressing the observable ones.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago (2 children)

"Shithole"?

Strongly disagree. Whatever problems the USA has, there are far more places that are far worse, and very few that are better.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Just because there are worse places in no way means that America is not a shithole as well ... specifically because it promises hope and freedom and but gives murdering cops and killer capitalism instead.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago (4 children)

Then all countries are shitholes and the term is rendered meaningless.

[–] alquicksilver 6 points 1 year ago

In this spirit, I suggest "porta-potty" country. A step up from shithole, since we have structure and something to sit on, but it's still unpleasant and bad in many ways.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

"shithole" does not imply that it's better or worse than anywhere else. It's simply "shithole". Don't overthink it. The state of things in other countries has absolutely zero to do with whether or not the US is a shithole.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (3 children)

So, what does it mean to be a shithole?

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[–] shalafi 41 points 1 year ago (4 children)

I get a deep sense of satisfaction every time a filthy 01/06 insurrectionist ends up in prison and whines about conditions.

Suck it up, buttercup. You were loving it when you thought it was just "those people".

[–] Mr_Blott 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

What happened on the 1st of June?

[–] beebarfbadger 2 points 1 year ago

No idea, it's just like people always going on about the 9th of November. Something about plane crashes i think?

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[–] Ktheone 18 points 1 year ago

YOU DONT SAY

[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 year ago (3 children)

The headline says "jail" but the article only refers to cases in prisons. I know the entire criminal justice system is messed up, but did this UN study specifically find both jails and prisons to be severely repressive and racist?

This is an important distinction because jail is where people wait pre-trail, meaning they typically have not yet been found to be guilty of the charges brought against them, while prison is where people who have been charged, found guilty and sentenced to prison will go. Jail is where a cop that decides to arrest someone for dubious reasons will take them, whether that's enforcing an unconstitutional law (such as flag desecration laws which is protected speech under federal caselaw), findings from a blatantly illegal search, or even they arrested the wrong person because they went to the wrong address to execute a warrant, or any number of other reasons

[–] calypsopub 4 points 1 year ago

That is a good distinction to make, but even convicted felons should be treated humanely.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

while prison is where people who have been charged, found guilty and sentenced to prison will go

Not strictly true, jails can also house those convicted of less serious crimes (say, less than 1yr), as well as temporarily awaiting transfer to other facilites.

Looks like the UN only visited jails in person, but interviewed people with a range of experiences. You can read the full report here: https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/09/systemic-racism-pervades-us-police-and-justice-systems-un-mechanism-racial

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Unfortunately a lot of americans like it just the way it is. Nothing's going to get better without a lot of time, or a lot of conservatives ending up in the ground

[–] Jerkules_Jerkules 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Hey now, how am I sposed to get my vengence boner stroked if there isn't someone's mugshot in the news for me to sneer at?

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago

Yeah no shit lol

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